A Byte of Blockchain - Week 50 Tokens - An Introduction
Season's Greetings
First of all, wishing everyone out there a Merry Christmas!! (Those who celebrate!!) and a Happy, Blessed & Prosperous 2023 to everyone. May this year shower blessings, positive thoughts & love on all & your families!!
Milestone 2
Can't believe I reached my 50th blog - my second milestone. Writing regularly is like regular exercise. Keeps our thinking fresh & our brains healthier.
Recap
Last week we explained stages 2 & 3 of a smart contract which are :
Stage 2 - Execute a Smart Contract
Stage 3 - Delete a Smart Contract
To execute a smart contract, it should be activated. The only way to activate a smart contract is through a transaction. Transaction execution results in a change of state of the Ethereum Blockchain.
This change of state gets recorded in all the computers on the Ethereum Blockchain which gets updated to reflect the new state.
We also saw that an address is allocated to a smart contract on its creation. All aspects of the smart contract are stored in that location.
A contract can be deleted by removing the underlying code which in turn removes the internal storage of the smart contract from that address.
Let us move forward and understand another important feature of smart contracts & Blockchains - Tokens.
Tokens - An Introduction
What are tokens?
As per Merriam-Webster, a token is defined as (among other definitions) :
a piece resembling a coin issued for use (as for fare on a bus) by a particular group on specified terms
a piece resembling a coin issued as money by some person or body other than a de jure government
something given or shown as a guarantee (as of authority, right, or identity)
Some common examples of tokens are :
Tokens issued at entertainment venues give the right to play all or certain games depending on the type of token
Tokens issued at nightclubs (or self-inking hand stamps) give the right of access to patrons of the club
These tokens provide certain rights or features depending on the terms & conditions of their issue.
Another important aspect to be considered is that a token represents a value for services (like access to games, services etc) which means
Tokens provide a right to a service or services for a certain value.
We will explore more on Blockchain tokens in the coming weeks!!
Happy Holidays!!
